


Taking a Chance

by Orithain, Rina9294



Series: Fourth Pass [31]
Category: Dragonriders of Pern - Anne McCaffrey
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-18
Updated: 2017-01-18
Packaged: 2018-09-18 10:33:09
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,531
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9380480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Orithain/pseuds/Orithain, https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rina9294/pseuds/Rina9294
Summary: Keirron wants more from Shaemus, but will the smith be willing to move past their previous animosity?





	

**Author's Note:**

> Direct sequel to "Crazy Men". Originally posted December 2008.

Keirron stood outside Shaemus’ door, hesitating, wondering what he was doing. Was he really about to knock on the door and _ask_ the smith to fly him? The tall, solidly built lord holder closed his blue-grey eyes and took a deep breath, then stared at the door again. Yes, he really was going to do this. He was going to admit that he wanted Shaemus, and maybe, just maybe, this time might be different. It might be the way he’d been dreaming of for the last several sevendays and was only now willing to admit to.

Biting his lip and wishing for courage, he raised his hand and rapped sharply. He had to force himself to stand there and wait rather than turn tail and flee before Shaemus could open the door, but he didn’t think he or anyone else in the hold could survive much more of this.

Shaemus scrubbed at his wet blond hair with a towel, cocking his head and listening for a second before the knock at his door was repeated. Slinging the damp towel around his neck, the smith walked across the room and pulled open the door.

“What can I...” He saw who was on the other side of the wooden panel and his eyebrows rose even as he felt a familiar clench low in his body at the sight of the dark-haired lord holder. “Keirron. What brings you to this part of the hold at this time of night?”

A flush rose in Keir’s cheeks, and he hoped desperately that no one was nearby. “I... I...” His voice broke and squeaked embarrassingly, and he had to clear his throat before he could try again. Unable to meet the smith’s blue, blue eyes, he stared fixedly at the far wall behind the other man, easily able to gaze over the blond head several inches below his own. “I came to see you, to... to...” Pale eyes met Shaemus’ briefly before shifting away again.

“Could I come in?”

“If you’d like.” Shaemus stepped back out of the way, holding the door open until Keir entered, then letting it close. He noted the lord holder’s nervous state and moved over to the sideboard. “You look like you could use a drink. Care for one?”

“Yes!” Seeing how startled the smith was by his vehemence, Keirron tried to relax and repeated his agreement more calmly. “Yes, please, I’d like a drink.” He wandered around, seeing little things that reminded him of Laurie, for once trying to see something of Shaemus as well, what he liked.

He accepted the drink gratefully when Shaemus handed it to him, gulping it down in a single swallow. He saw the almost wide-eyed look of surprise, and he smiled a little ruefully. “You and I got off to a bad start a long time ago. Do you think we could try something as radical starting over?”

The short smith refilled Keirron’s glass before pouring himself one and taking a long drink. “Start over? As in forget the past? All of it?”

He took another drink and leaned against the arm of the sofa, thinking the proposition over. “Laurie would like it if we got along.” The last was said in a quiet voice.

“ _I_ would like it if we got along,” Keirron admitted almost shyly. “And I don’t want to forget the past.” He flushed again but forced himself to continue. “I... I’d like to be with you without the anger.” Nothing on Pern could have made him meet the smith’s eyes at that moment.

“With me?” Shaemus asked carefully. He set his drink on the end table and took a step toward the taller man, catching Keir’s chin in his hand and applying pressure until the lord holder looked at him. “You mean you want me to fuck you?”

Keir chewed his lip nervously, barely noticing that he was drawing blood. “N-not exactly.” He swallowed hard, then forged ahead. “Does it have to be just fucking? Can’t it be... more?”

Now it was Shaemus’ turn to look away. He knew he wanted the younger man; he’d known that for some time now, but more... Even as he tried to reject the idea, he found he couldn’t. Somewhere amidst all the angry passion, something more had started growing, something he’d never expected to feel again, especially for the little lord.

“This...” He paused, then squared his shoulders. “All right, but what then?”

Keirron finally met Shaemus’ eyes directly. “I don’t know. All I know is I’m tired of being angry all the time or, worse, pretending to be angry when I’m not. I want you, Shaemus. Can’t we just start from that?” His eyes fell again. “Unless... you don’t want me?” he whispered.

The smith laughed at that, the sound a little bitter but also resigned. “No, I want you. I hated myself for the fact for quite a while, but now... I suppose I feel the same. I’m tired of it too. I want to feel... I think it would be worth a try, considering we seem to end up in that situation more often than not.”

“Is that so bad?” Keirron asked wistfully. “Do you realize that we’ve never kissed, not really? You’ve done things to me that no one else has ever dreamed of, but you’ve never kissed me. I guess that...” He bit off his words, not wanting to say them, afraid somehow that would make them more real.

“That what?” Shaemus asked, his brow creasing as he realized that indeed was true. But could he do that? There was only one way to find out. Sliding a hand behind Keir’s neck, the smith pulled him down, brushing his lips against Keir’s. “That what?” he whispered against the soft flesh of Keir’s lips.

Pale blue eyes met brighter blue, and Keir smiled slightly. “Nothing. I was wrong.” His tongue flicked out to taste Shaemus’ lips, and his body started to harden. He pressed closer, his lips parting, a faint moan escaping him. “Kiss me, please.”

Shaemus echoed Keir’s moan, his echoing deep in his chest as he gave in, pulling the larger man closer and locking their mouths together, hungrily exploring Keirron’s mouth, already addicted to his taste and his enthusiastic response.

The lord holder gave himself up to the kiss, his mouth opening under the pressure of the smith’s, letting him in. His arms wrapped around the other man, pulling him close. This was what he’d wanted for so long, this man, none other. His legs spread, the familiar scent of Shaemus arousing him, and he pressed his hardening erection against the blond.

Gathering the other man closer, Shaemus shifted his hands without breaking the kiss, his breath rasping in his nostrils as he sucked in air in gasping breaths. His palms slid lower, cupping and kneading Keir’s ass, rubbing the firm flesh even as he pulled their bodies closer together, making his own arousal evident.

“We need to get to the bed,” he growled, nibbling at Keir’s lower lip, suddenly desperate to get inside the other man, this time while looking into Keir’s eyes.

Keir stared at him blankly, whining softly, the words only gradually seeping into his arousal-fogged mind and making sense. When they did, he darted an eager look toward the bed, but rather than moving, he tugged tentatively at Shaemus’ pants, wanting to see him. He started to sink down to his knees to suck Shaemus the way he knew the smith liked.

Shaemus’ hands closed on Keir’s arms, stopping the movement. “Later, little lord,” he breathed, drawing the lord holder back up and in as he eased Keir’s shirt off. “Right now I want to be in you, and if you use that on me, it’ll be over too soon and I’ll have to wait.” He reached up and ran a thumb over Keir’s lower lip.

The lord holder shuddered with arousal, eyes glazed with his passion. “Jays, yes,” he groaned, his tongue darting out to taste Shaemus’ finger. He stepped over to the bed, yanking at his own clothing, then crawled up onto the bed on all fours, nearly quivering with anticipation.

Moving to climb onto the bed between Keir’s legs, Shaemus stopped and placed a hand on the larger man’s hip. “Turn over, Keirron,” he rasped, applying a gentle pressure until Keir rolled to his side and then his back, looking up at him in confusion. “I want to see you this time. To watch how you—how you look when we’re together.”

Keirron stared up at him with wide eyes, almost not believing what he thought he heard. Then a shy smile curved his lips, and he sat up a little to kiss Shaemus sweetly. The gentle kiss of thanks quickly heated up to something more, and soon he was flat on his back with the smith on top of him, moaning his pleasure into the blond’s mouth.

His legs spread almost involuntarily, rising to wrap around Shaemus’ waist, and he moaned like a feline in heat as their erections rubbed together. “Please, Shaemus,” he begged.

Holding onto his control by the thinnest of margins, Shaemus grabbed blindly for the container of oil near the bed. Dipping his fingers in, he carefully stretched Keir’s body until the other man was whimpering and riding his hand. This whole experience was mind-blowing. He’d had Keirron before, many times, but this time was different, alien, right somehow.

“Ready, little lord?” he breathed, coating his cock before pressing inward, seating himself deep within the other man’s body.

Keir’s head drove backward deep into the pillows, his throat arching as he cried his pleasure. It felt so good to have Shaemus in him again, different this time, better. His eyes opened and he found himself looking into the sky blue of the other man’s, unable to look away. Somehow this was more intimate than anything else, more than all the times he’d shared his body with the smith.

He whimpered, wanting more, his hands scrabbling at Shaemus’ back. His hips rose, taking the other man deeper, then sank down again, the friction making him moan. “Shaaaaemus,” he wailed, “please, fly me!”

“Yesss...” The smith breathed, throwing his head back as he arched his hips, pulling back out of Keir, then rocking inward, each thrust distinct but nowhere near as brutal as their other times together had been.

“Squeeze me, Keir. Let me feel how much you like it,” he purred, dipping his head to nip at the lord holder’s nipple.

The combination of hot, coaxing words and sharp teeth on his sensitive nipple wrenched a scream of passion from Keirron, and his body clenched down on the shaft impaling him. His hips rose, riding Shaemus’ cock, meeting every thrust, and his fists clenched in the rumpled sheets. He watched the pleasure ripple across the other man’s face, and the sight increased his own arousal. His ass tightened and relaxed rhythmically, milking Shaemus, pleasuring him. He wanted to see Shaemus at the moment of orgasm. He wanted that more than he’d ever wanted anything, more even than he wanted his own pleasure.

Shaemus’ breath lodged in his throat as Keir milked his cock, and he felt a possessive rush as he wondered just who had taught the lord holder those moves. The veins stood out on his neck and forearms as sensations overwhelmed him, and Shaemus felt the sweat drip from his body to pool on Keir’s skin as they rocked together.

Working a hand between them, he began stroking the other man’s erection, needing to feel Keir come apart at the moment he did. “Now, together.”

Staring up into Shaemus’ eyes, Keir came, crying his pleasure as he did and watching the ecstasy contort his lover’s face.

“Keirron,” Shaemus gasped, his whole body stiffening as he came. The second his orgasm stopped, he collapsed onto Keir’s chest, his hands stroking along the lord holder’s sides.

Keir’s arms and legs wrapped tightly around the smaller man, holding him close, a part of him afraid that once again, the moment they stopped flying, they would start to tear at each other with words and end up storming away from each other. “That was...” He trailed off, unable to find words to express what he felt. Sex between the two of them had been amazing from the very first time, but this...

“Good, I hope.” Shaemus raised his head, giving a hint of a smile before taking a deep breath and closing his eyes. In some ways this was another saying goodbye to Laurie; it was the first time he’d made love to anyone since his mate’s death, but he couldn’t regret it or who he was with. “So, are we trying this?”

Keirron actually sighed with relief. “Oh yes!” he replied fervently, tightening his hold on the smith and smiling happily. _Please don’t let me mess this up,_ he thought almost franticly, desperately wanting it to work out. “I think I’ve wanted this since the first moment I saw you,” he finally admitted.

“In between wanting to strangle me?” Shaemus asked, grinning again, this one staying on his face a little longer. “I want to try too. I—I don’t know how, but you wormed your way into my heart, little lord. Even when I wanted to hate you, when all I wanted to feel when I was in you was anger, I couldn’t.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Fun as this is, I don’t think I could take knowing that you despised me,” Keir said quietly, then smiled again. “It’s a lot nicer when I don’t think you’re forcing yourself to touch me.”

“I never had to force myself to do that,” Shaemus admitted, leaning in to nuzzle the hollow of Keirron’s jaw, the small tender gestures he now was free to use making his heart ache. “More like force myself not to touch you, especially when I saw you going off with every man who was inclined that way. Thought I was crazy, that I should have been laughing at you, but I wasn’t.”

“I only went to them because I thought I couldn’t have you, shouldn’t want you,” Keir said in a small voice, suddenly unable to meet the smith’s eyes. “But every time I was with one of them, all I saw was you, and I wanted you more afterward than I did before.”

“Good.” Unable to believe he’d said that aloud, Shaemus flushed before nuzzling Keir’s neck again. “Since I’ll be the only one having you from now on.”

“I like the sound of that... when?” Keir asked eagerly, ignoring the fact that it had been mere moments since Shaemus had very thoroughly flown him. He couldn’t seem to get enough of the other man, and he really didn’t want that to change, not now that he knew he could have him.

The smith had to laugh at that, though he too was eagerly awaiting the next time they could fly together. “How about we take time to recover, and then I’ll be glad to give it another go. Unless you’d like to return the favor.” The last was said with a small laugh as from what he’d seen, Shaemus highly doubted that Keir would want to fly anyone.

The lord holder looked unsure. The only flying he’d done so far had been women, and it hadn’t exactly been memorable. Then again, this was Shaemus, and everything seemed to be better with him. “Do you want me to?” he asked slowly, but not reluctantly. “I’ve never flown another man, but...” The more he thought about it, the more intrigued he became.

“If you’d like to try, I’m game,” Shaemus murmured, pushing up onto his palms to smile down at Keir. “It’s not that hard, well, other than a certain part anyway.”

Keir laughed. “Yeah, I can see that it would work better if certain parts were hard. And yes, I think I would like to try. Don’t think it’ll be my favorite since I like feeling you inside me too much, feeling like I belong to you,” he said almost shyly, “but it does sound like fun, and I’d like to make you feel good too.”

Shaemus snorted at that. “Yeah, can’t you tell I just hate taking you? Doesn’t make me feel good at all...” He shook his head and leaned in to kiss Keir. “Fool.”

After returning the kiss thoroughly, Keir pointed out, “Well, you did say that Laurie usually flew you, so I thought you might miss it. It’s not fair that only I get what I want; I want you to have everything you want too.” He knew he wasn’t explaining himself very well, but hopefully Shaemus would understand his point... and not get mad at him for mentioning Laurie.

“I do have everything I want.” As he spoke, Shaemus realized just how true those words were—and how frightening. “I enjoy it, but I certainly don’t mind being in you, especially when you come...” A hint of passion darkened his eyes. “You are a wildcat then.”

The words made Keirron blush, and when he realized it, the embarrassment made him flush even darker. “Only with you,” he admitted, shifting slightly as the conversation began to arouse him again.

“Really?” Shaemus’ eyebrows rose. “Well, don’t mind that being the case.” Sliding off of the larger man, he tugged Keir to his side and curled up against him. “So much for the rumors then...”

Looking faintly uneasy, Keirron wanted to know, “What rumors?” At the same time, he nestled close, enjoying being able to touch Shaemus and to snuggle up with him. He loved to cuddle after sex, but he’d never had a partner willing to indulge him or with whom he’d wanted to be that vulnerable.

Hearing Keir’s worry, Shaemus kissed him again. “The ones that started up when you hopped from bed to bed. The ones that are going to end now that you’re only in mine.”

Deciding that he was better off not knowing, Keir didn’t press for details. Besides, Shaemus had given him an opening he wasn’t going to miss. “Wouldn’t that be easier if we were sharing a bed?” he suggested diffidently.

“Isn’t that what we’re doing now?” the smith responded. “Or do you mean on a more regular basis?”

“Actually, I kind of meant on a permanent basis,” the lord holder said in a rush, almost afraid of what Shaemus’ reaction might be.

Falling silent for a moment, Shaemus closed his eyes, listening to the silence of his mind and the voice of his heart. “All right. Permanent works.”

Keirron’s breath escaped him in a rush, and if he hadn’t been lying down, he would have fallen over. A small yelp of joy escaped him, and he suddenly rolled on top of Shaemus, kissing him delightedly, squirming like a happy pup.

Shaemus let out an ‘oof’ when Keir’s sudden weight squashed him into the bed. “Easy, little lord...” He reconsidered that and wrapped his arms around Keir, smiling. “Not so little lord I suppose I should change that to.”

“I kind of like it,” Keirron replied with a wry grin. “No one else would dare say anything like it, but you just go ahead and say what you think. I think that’s part of what made me love y—“ He broke off abruptly, dismay clear in his pale eyes.

“It doesn’t kill you to say it.” Shaemus said quietly, swallowing hard before continuing. “I love you, see?”

The lord holder’s eyes widened until they appeared about to pop out of his head, and he had to swallow hard before he could speak. “You do?” he squeaked, then cleared his throat and tried again. “I mean, I thought you hated me. Well, until just now, but I never thought, that is, I mean... Oh sharditall! I love you!”

“See? Still alive.” Shaemus closed his eyes tight and hugged Keirron close. “Thought the same thing myself actually. Glad to see we were both wrong.”

“Who would have believed it?” Keir shook his head in bemusement. “I’m sure half the hold was putting bets on which of us would kill the other. But I’m glad it turned out this way,” he nearly purred his contentment, then chuckled suddenly. “You realize this makes it likely that someday soon you’re going to be Lord Holder Shaemus?” He lazily drew patterns on his lover’s chest with a fingertip.

“Ummm... no.” Shaemus shook his head and kissed Keir before the other man could answer. “I don’t mind the rest; I just have no desire to be a lord holder. Now having a lord holder is fine with me.’

“You trying to say that you’re never going to make an honest man of me?” Keir teased, his chin propped on Shaemus’ chest so he could look at his lover. “And you definitely don’t need to worry about _having_ a lord holder, love; you’re stuck with me now.”

“Never said that, just don’t want the ‘lord holder’ title to go along with it,” Shaemus murmured, tangling his fingers in Keir’s hair, feeling the soft, dark locks catch on his calluses as he ran them through the heavy strands.

“What, you don’t want to share an office and throw me over the desk every nooning and fly me?” Keir purred, his head pushing up into the caress like an oversized feline. “Just because you happen to be a very good smith is no reason to let anything get in the way of fantastic sex,” he laughed.

“So you take a long nooning and come to the forge; that way I can spread you out on the anvil and take you in front of the fire,” Shaemus responded blandly.

Keir moaned as his powers of speech deserted him and his body instantly hardened again. “There’s a really nice fireplace in my rooms, you know,” he finally managed to say in a slightly strangled tone. “And a fur rug in front of it.”

“Are you saying you want to go back there right now?” As he spoke, Shaemus rubbed against Keir’s body, in an invitation to do that or just stay here.

“Uh, maybe later,” Keir decided, his aroused body telling him that he didn’t want to go anywhere before his lover had flown him at least once more. “Want you right now... you in me or me in you?” he questioned, remembering their earlier conversation.

“Mmm,” Shaemus murmured, running a hand down Keir’s back, letting his fingertips tickle over the larger man’s ass, “how about we save you taking me for in front of that fireplace, hmm?”

Already quivering with arousal from the smith’s light touch, Keir nodded vigorously. His legs parted, his breathing growing heavier, and he moaned softly. “Please,” he begged, passion-glazed eyes fixing on the smaller man.

Rolling them both over so that he was on top of Keirron, Shaemus reached for the oil. Catching Keir’s hand, he poured some into the lord holder’s palm. “Touch me, Keir,” he rasped, his cock throbbing at the thought of the other man’s hands on him. “Get me ready to fly you.”

Biting his lip to hold back a whine of arousal, Keirron held the oil in his hand till it warmed, then reached down to curl his slicked fist around his lover’s erection, stroking the lubricant onto him and enjoying holding him. He watched his own hand, pale against the ruddy flush of Shaemus’ cock, and he squirmed, his legs opening a little more.

“Enough.” Reaching down, Shaemus caught Keir’s wrist in his hand. “Any more and...” He paused, panting, trying to keep control. “And you’d end up doing the flying after all.”

Bending over, he began kissing Keir, exploring his mouth thoroughly but leisurely, while at the same time, he placed his oil-slick cock at the entrance to the other man’s body, pressing inward, feeling the recently loosened muscles relax to allow him entrance.

Keir moaned into Shaemus’ mouth, overwhelmed by the feeling of his lover taking his mouth and his body simultaneously. His legs rose to wind around the smith’s waist, opening himself still more, and his hands ran shakily up and down the blond’s back.

“Yesss...” Shaemus breathed, settling deep within Keirron, his movements slow and subtle. He wanted this to last as long as they could both stand it, to provide another frame of reference for them both, one based on tenderness and caring instead of pain and anger.

“So good, Keir. Feel so good here.”

“Yes, jays, yes,” Keir panted, staring up into the blue, blue eyes, seeing the love and lust there. “Only you, always, love you...” He fought to remain still, somehow sensing what Shaemus intended, but he couldn’t control his inner muscles, which clenched hungrily on his lover.

“Damned right, never leaving me.” Shaemus’ expression twisted painfully, but then he regained control of his emotions, kissing Keir once again as he continued his subtle movements, feeling his lover’s ass clench and relax around him and Keir’s cock rub between their bellies.

Keir somehow pulled him closer, understanding what lay behind that expression. “Can’t promise not to die, but I _can_ say that I have something to live for now,” he whispered before giving himself up to Shaemus and the heat racing through him. He might rule the hold, but Shaemus ruled him, and he’d never been happier about anything.

Unable to speak now, Shaemus nodded blindly, his hands closing on both sides of Keirron’s head so that he could kiss his lover until they were both senseless. All the while, he continued to move, tiny increments that left them both wanting more.

Every breath was a soft whine now, yet Keirron made no attempt to seize control from the other man, content to follow his lead. He wanted this to go on forever, a sentiment he tried to convey in broken words, panted out between gasps and moans of pleasure, his hands now in continual motion over the smith’s body. “Love you, love you, love you,” he chanted, his entire body stiff as he trembled on the brink of orgasm, held there endlessly by Shaemus’ slow movements.

Nodding, catching Keirron’s words on lips and tongue and swallowing them down to his heart, Shaemus kept moving, his control slowly being stripped away by Keir’s words and the small, uncontrollable movements of his body. Finally giving in, he lengthened his strokes, rocking in and out of Keir, moaning his appreciation and love with each stroke until it all because too much and he stiffened, his whole body twitching as he came.

Keirron tensed, his eyes flying open to fix on the man buried deep inside him, whose seed was filling him, and that thought was enough to tip him over the edge, crying out his lover’s name as he came, arms and legs clinging to the smith.

He lay for long moments, catching his breath and simply holding the man atop him. Finally a wry smile twisted his lips. “You know, I have no idea how we ended up like this, but I’m glad we did.”

Shaemus smiled and kissed Keir’s shoulder before pushing up enough to look down at him. “I have an idea, but even I don’t understand it, so I won’t try to explain. Let’s just enjoy it.”

“Sounds good to me.” He looked at Shaemus hopefully. “Does this mean that my rooms will be our rooms now?” Keirron wanted him there, but if Shaemus needed his own space, Keir would try not to push. He was _not_ going to drive this man away by being too needy... well, except in bed. He didn’t really seem to have any control there when it came to Shaemus.

“Looks that way.” Shaemus’ answer was low and husky. “Can’t see us running back and forth between our rooms every night, can you?”

“No, I can think of much better uses for all that energy,” Keir chuckled, trying to hide his relief. “Besides, I have the private bathing pool. I’m sure we can think of something to do with that.”

“Probably.” Rolling them both over, Shaemus settled Keirron’s head on his cheat as he stroked the younger man’s hair. “Speaking of which, we should probably use one sometime soon before we stick together.”

“Good point... as soon as I revive, I’ll see if I can stand up,” Keir said, smiling. “Think we can make it back to _our_ rooms without any side trips into storerooms?” he teased, faintly bemused by their apparently constant hunger for one another.

“Probably... possibly... we can try.” Grinning, Shaemus kissed the top of Keir’s head and tightened his arms around his lover’s body, simply enjoying touching and being touched.

“To think I almost didn’t come tonight,” Keir mused, rubbing his cheek against Shaemus’ chest. “I’m glad I did; I don’t think we could have gone on the way we were for much longer.”

“You’re right,” Shaemus admitted quietly, recalling their earlier couplings. “One of us would have snapped and killed the other, or made it impossible for the armscrafters to ignore things any longer.”

He sighed. “I’m glad you came too, Keir. In that way you’re a much bigger man than I am.”

Keir shuddered at the thought of the armscrafters becoming involved in his love life, but Shaemus was right. They’d come close to crossing the line more than once. Not wanting to think about it, he chuckled. “Shaemus, I love you, but I _am_ the bigger man.” He grinned down at the much shorter smith, daring him to argue the point.

Losing his solemnity, Shaemus arched his eyebrows, sliding a hand down to cup first Keir’s cock, then his own. “I’d argue that point, little lord.”

Keirron chuckled. “Well, I’ll yield the victory to you there, but I think I reap the rewards, smith.” He pressed closer, smiling. “So, are we going to try to find some clothes and move to our rooms where we can soak clean or are we going for a record?”

“Let’s go soak; then we can see about that record and that fur rug in front of the fireplace.” Shifting Keir off of him, Shaemus slid out of the bed, gathering up their clothes from the floor and sorting them before handing the lord holder his garments.

Reminding himself that he would only be sticky until they made it back to their rooms and the bathing pool, Keir pulled the clothing on, grimacing as it stuck to him. “I think we may need to soak these clothes back off,” he grumbled.

Once dressed, he moved closer to Shaemus, tentatively reaching for him, not sure if the smith would let him put an arm around his waist.

“Baby,” Shaemus smiled, noting Keir’s hesitation and moving closer to his new lover, winding both of their arms around each other’s waist. It may have been a torturous journey, but now that they’d arrived at the end, he was going to relish it. Life was too short, as he’d learned the hard way, not to enjoy what you could of it.

Once again, Keirron smiled with relief. After all the times they’d ripped at each other with words, he hadn’t been certain that Shaemus would really be willing to be seen in public with him as his lover. A faint rumble of contentment escaped him, and he leaned his head against the other man’s, briefly wishing he were the smaller of the two so he could rest his head on his lover’s shoulder.

“Ready?” he asked, starting toward the doorway. “Is there anything you want to bring... like clean clothes? Oh, never mind; if you don’t mind, we can send a drudge to move your things.”

This was something he’d have to get used to, that was for certain. “Let me just take...” Snatching up a carry-all, Shaemus stuffed a change of clothing into it. “In case the drudge gets held up,” he explained with a grin. “Wouldn’t want to distract you in the morning.”

“But I like being distracted by you,” Keir laughed. “Even lord holders are allowed honeymoons, you know. And I think this qualifies.” He moved close again, liking Shaemus’ arm around him. “Can I carry anything for you?”

“I won’t argue that one.” He tugged Keirron down for a kiss. “And hate to break it to you, love, but even though you’re twice my size, I _can_ carry a bag of clothes.”

“That’s fine. It leaves me as the one with hands free,” Keir chuckled, taking advantage of the situation by running his hands over Shaemus’ ass. “Mmm, yes, I definitely like this.”

“Keep that up and we won’t end up in the bathing pool,” Shaemus warned as they walked out into the hallway, starting back toward Keir’s rooms.

Keir considered it, then decided that he really did want to get out of these sticky clothes and get clean before they did anything else, so he should behave, at least till they got to the bathing pool. “Oh well, I suppose I can keep my hands off you that long,” he groused, still keeping an arm around Shaemus’ waist. “After all, I have you forever now.”


End file.
